Thursday, November 19, 2009

Shepherds

Long before my neighbors put up their colored lights and before the Dollar Store packed their isles with Christmas trinkets and before the inflatable snowmen were inflated...I had a Christmas thought.

I was driving down a country road on the outside of our town. There were no streetlights, just a scattering of houses and farms. I was struck by the beauty of the night and the awesome span of starry sky. It was the stars that brought the thought.

I thought of the shepherds outside of Bethlehem and how they must have enjoyed the view of an open sky at night as they slept under the stars. I pictured them, faces weathered by sun and wind and the elements, clothes dust covered and wrinkled, fingernails caked with dirt. I thought of how they were probably not revered or held in high esteem for such a common job.

Yet, it was these same dirty, humble shepherds that God chose to dazzle with a light show beyond compare. Thousands of angels singing, "Glory to God in the highest" and then He topped it all by letting them in on the good news that the long-awaited Messiah was born and where He was! He chose one of the most common people - one of the lowest on the social scale-to tell His greatest news.

It was that thought that gave me a much needed glimpse of God's tenderness. He loved those shepherds and chose to heap His mercy and grace in abundance on them. God's Son went on to show the same characteristics - loving the outcasts, the despised and the scandalous. I was reaffirmed that night that His love for me is as strong and abundant as well, despite my many imperfections. He is not just some powerful Being that is far away from where we are - ready to strike when we slip up. His heart is drawn to our helplessness and to the helpless. I got a glimpse of His heart for the outsider and loved Him even more.

1 comments:

alisa said...

Beautiful post!

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